PICTURES OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN FLOWERS 

Note: You can click on thumbnail picture to see full size version.

These fascinating flowers are commonly known as "Shooting Star". Although they appear in many places, these were photographed in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This Wood Lily was seen near Cub Lake trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This group of Colorado Columbine was discovered near the Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Mariposa Lilies seem to come in a variety of colors and designs as indicated by these that were seen in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Neat clumps of White Columbine like these were seen along a trail in Grand Teton National Park. The long spurs at the rear of the flowers are very evident in the picture.

These Fairy Slippers (Calypso Orchids) were photographed in Grand Teton National Park.

This Leopard Lily was seen in Grand Teton National Park. The stem has a U turn at the top behind the blossom, which causes the blossom to face down so that only the spotted back of it is normally visible. To see inside the blossom, the stem was temporily bent backward slightly with a small twig, and a very low camera position was used.

This Oregon Grape was seen blooming near Leigh Lake in Grand Teton Natonal Park.

Grass of Parnassus, such as this one seen in Grand Teton National Park, appear as rather simple white flowers until one bends down and examines them closely to see the fine detail.

Nuttall's Violets like these bloom briefly each year in Grand Teton National Park.

Prince's Pine, such as this seen in Grand Teton National Park, is a very small flower that tends to point toward the ground, and is therefore often not particularly noticeable.

Pine drops grow on a single stalk 2 to 3 feet high. These were edge lighted by the early morning sun in Grand Teton National Park.

Several small bushes of these Mountain Laurel grow along the edge of String Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

This Bog Orchid was found in a "mucky" area adjacent to a small stream that was cascading down a mountainside in Grand Teton National Park.

This Monkshood was among many seen in Grand Teton National Park.

This side view of another Monkshood, seen in the same area of the park as the one pictured above, shows the hood's relationship to the main flower, although because of the angle of view, one cannot see inside the flower as in the above picture.

Clumps of Arrowleaf Balsamroot like this frequently appear in profusion in Grand Teton National Park in the early summer.

Service Berry bushes are fairly prolific in Grand Teton National Park, and although on an individual basis their flowers are not as interesting as some other ones, the bushes covered with blooms in early summer add a bright note to the scenery and are a pleasure to view while hiking.

Clumps of Lupine like this bloom each year in Lupine Meadows, as well as in other areas of the park.

These Green Gentian were just starting to bloom in Grand Teton National Park. These plants grow to a height of several feet.

This is a close up view of one of the Green Gentian blossoms seen in the picture above.

Patches of Larkspur like this add a very colorful touch to the ground cover when viewed from a slight distance.

Close examination of individual Larkspur blossoms shows that they are not particularly impressive when viewed closely.

Baneberry has an interesting flower head in that it is made up of many individual blossoms, each on its own stem, growing from the main stalk of the plant in a fashion somewhat similar to that of the larger Bear Grass shown farther down this page. This picture was taken in Grand Teton National Park.

This clump of Sticky Geranium was growing adjacent to a trail in Grand Teton National Park.

This single Sticky Geranium was not far from the clump pictured above. This flower had an unusually deep, vivid color (as can be seen by comparing it with the more typical ones seen above). You can see several drops of water remaining on the petals from a recent light rain shower.

This was one of a number of clusters of "Prairie Smoke" seen in Hoback Canyon, which is located in a national forest south of the town of Jackson, Wyoming.

This Yellow Pea was growing in the national forest east of Laramie, Wyoming.

Indian Paintbrush appears in many different varieties as can be see by comparing this Scarlet Paintbrush seen in Grand Teton National Park with the Rose Paintbrush picture below. The flowers were edge lighted by the sun, which which makes them stand out against the shaded background.

This picture of Rose Paintbrush coated with frost was taken at Milner Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park before the early morning sun had time to melt the ice crystals from the petals.

These intriguing flowers are Elephant Head, so named because of the resemblance between the individual flower heads and that of the head of an elephant. This picture was taken at Milner Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This clump of Phacilia was growing by the roadside in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This Pygmy Bitterroot was among a number seen at high altitudes in Rocky Mountain National Park. These tiny flowers are approximately ¼ inch or less in diameter and are miniature alpine versions of the much larger conventional Bitterroot flowers seen at lower elevations.

This clump of Sandwort with a single Pygmy Bitterroot next to it was found near the above Pygmy Bitterroot.

These Alpine Primrose were above the tree line in the tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park.

This clump of Sky Pilot is another example of the many beautiful tundra flowers that grow in Rocky Mountain National Park at elevations of 11,000 feet and higher.

Arctic Gentian like these appear in various areas of the tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park during late summer.

This picture, looking down into an Arctic Gentian, shows the inside much better than can be seen from the above picture, but it fails to show the interesting patterns on the outside of the flowers.

This is a picture of Bear Grass in Glacier National Park. From a little distance the flower heads look something like inverted light bulbs, but they are actually made up of dozens of individual little flowers.

These Rock Nettle were seen in Big Bend National Park growing on the side of a rock wall.

This interesting looking flower (Dwarf Anisacanth) was seen growing on a bush adjacent to the trail to the Chisos Mountains Window in Big Bend National Park. A yellow variation of this flower is more likely to be seen in the Grapevine Hills area of the park.

At a slight distance, Ocotillo in bloom are not particularly impressive since the blooms look rather insignificant on the ends of the individual stalks. However, as can be seen below, the blooms are large and very pretty when examined more closely.

This is a closeup picture of one of the Ocotillo blooms seen in Big Bend National Park.

After an unusually rainy early fall, tremendous numbers of Ceniza were blooming in Big Bend National Park. The more common variety with pinkish flowers is shown at left.

Pictured at left is Purple Ceniza, also seen in Big Bend National Park at the same time as the variety shown above. These flowers were mixed in with prickly pear cactus.

This Living Rock Cactus was also photographed in Big Bend National Park.

During years with sufficient spring rain, vast numbers of these Giant Dagger Yuccas bloom in an area of Big Bend National Park. These impressive plants typically grow to a height of 15 to 20 feet.

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